Yukimasa, Demon of Ice Lore: Official Story

I have given you a great gift. Do not disappoint me. Those such as we, who live for the glory of battle, must walk with death at every turn. Therefore we must choose the path of death even when life beckons us. If we face it without fear, there is no limit to what we can accomplish.
– Yukimasa, to Hintoro

Yukimasa, a Demonspawn of frost, battled long and hard on behalf of Siroth during the First Great War, but the Shadow God had been overconfident and bloodthirsty, and his forces were routed. Yukimasa lost his faith in his divine liege for that, and never managed to return to Anathraad. Seeking purpose, he learned to smith, and spent decades practicing in solitude. Finally, he created a pair of twinned swords wreathed in supernatural cold, which he called Blood Freeze and Bone Chill. He desired to test these weapons against the most skilled warrior he could find.

After much searching over many years, he came upon a Mikage captain called Hintoro and challenged him to a duel, enjoying the thrill of combat he had not experienced in so long. Yukimasa was impressed by Hintoro’s grit and skill, and bequeathed Blood Freeze unto him. He charged Hintoro to grow in strength and skill, and ensure that such an exquisite blade did not sit idle. Hintoro was humbled by Yukimasa’s display of martial skill and Demonic power, and took the instructions to heart.

For years, Hintoro killed countless outlaws, dissidents, and foreign invaders across Yakai with Blood Freeze. Hintoro so impressed his superiors that he was elevated to Demonhood himself. Now considering himself Yukimasa’s peer, he hoped that the frost Demonspawn would make good on his promise of a reunion, and sure enough, shortly after the birth of Hintoro’s son, Jintoro, Yukimasa reappeared.

Pleased with all that Hintoro had accomplished, Yukimasa declared that Blood Freeze now belonged to Hintoro permanently. He thereafter stayed with Hintoro for a time so the two of them could refine their battle skills and help raise Jintoro to be as great a warrior as they. Yukimasa helped manage Hintoro’s lands while Hintoro and his son crisscrossed Yakai doing battle.

After many years, his friends failed to return as expected after an expedition near the border of the Mistwood. Yukimasa eventually learned that Hintoro had been slain by the Sylvan, and Jintoro had disappeared in the aftermath of the battle. Yukimasa blamed the Mikage for misusing the two warriors’ talents and getting them killed. He left Hintoro’s estate and returned to the mountains to live in solitude once again.

Years later, Jintoro, who had survived the battle that claimed his father’s life, sought Yukimasa out in the depths of the Cloudspire Mountains. Jintoro told Yukimasa of his own attempts to live a peaceful and meaningful life, how he had taken up an anonymous guardianship over a humble village – and how the Sylvan had sought to finish the job they had started by wiping him out along with the villagers. Jintoro asked Yukimasa to help him avenge the villagers’ deaths, and Yukimasa agreed. Blood Freeze and Bone Chill were once again united, and a great reckoning is imminent.